


Celestial

by Sharoto



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Professors, Black Family Traditions, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Metamorphmagus, Pre-Relationship, Professor Harry Potter, Pureblood Traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-07 00:08:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,656
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20515784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sharoto/pseuds/Sharoto
Summary: His parents are gone, and he’s estranged from a little is left of his family. Some meddling from his young cousin leads Draco to an interesting revelation as well as a chance for the two of them to finally talk.





	Celestial

**Author's Note:**

> Loosely inspired by Mischief Managers video Photo’s and Hypotheses But what if Harry had actually admitted the truth and what if Draco had over heard. But then I went off on a Draco & Teddy tangent, because I love the idea of these two bonding.

Their gazes locked through the now open door for a moment, pink flushed both of their cheeks at the overheard confession. The moment passed and Harry rose swiftly, addressed both men with a nod and rushed from the room. "If you'll excuse me, Teddy, Malfoy." His face was scarlet as he brushed passed Draco in the doorway of his office. 

"Po...Harry! Wait!" He tried, reaching for the other man as he fled. Draco turned back to the boy sitting in Harry's office with a smug grin and bright turquoise hair. "You planned this! Didn't you?" He said sternly, long fingers pointed at his young cousin. "You sent the message for me to meet him?" Less stern now but still angry, Draco watched as remorse touched Teddy's features, and his hair turning less vibrant, fading towards his natural colour. 

"I didn't ...It wasn't...I thought" Teddy tried, paling as he realised how badly his plan had gone. "I'm sorry, Professor." The young boy hung his head. Draco moved swiftly across the room toward him, and stopped in front of his cousin, and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. 

"It's okay Edward, I'm sure you didn't mean for it to happen quite like that, and please call me Draco when in private.” He looked up, hopeful, but still, his hair remained as mousy as his father’s had been. “Cheer up, I’m sure Harry will be fine once he’s had the chance to cool down,” Draco paused and sucked in a breath, “Well I hope he is at least…I guess I really should talk to him shouldn’t I?” his cheeks flushed once more at the thought of where that conversation might lead.

“You really should, though maybe wait ’til he’s had a bit of time to think first.” Teddy answered, with a grin as blue started to appear from his roots. He brushed a hand through his short hair absently as it finished changing and Draco a caught glimpse of silver on his cousin's finger. 

“You actually wear it?” he said, weakly, strangely unsure of himself. 

“Wha..oh, that yes of course! I’ve barely taken it off since you sent it!” Teddy held up his hand, briefly rubbing the ring with his thumb, clearly an old habit. That brought hope to the elder man’s heart. His cousin had not only been getting his gifts but was wearing one of them all these years later! Maybe not all hope was lost, maybe he could have the reconciliation he’d wanted for over a decade now, maybe just maybe. 

“You liked them...I mean it then?” He said softly, barely daring to hope. 

Teddy looked at his estranged cousin, so used to the cool persona he portrayed in lessons, unsure what to make of how vulnerable he looked. “Yes, Pro…Draco, I loved all your gifts, even though Grandma didn’t approve, to begin with.”

Draco chuckled at that, “No, I can’t imagine she did.” He thought back over the missed years, “I do wish I could have been there for you, as you grew up. But my Aunt, your Grandmother, was…understandably…protective. Not that I blamed her of course.” All his mistakes flashed in his mind, so many little things adding up to one giant mistake. He rubbed his left arm subconsciously before continuing quietly, “I hope one day I can prove myself to you both, you’re the only family I have left.” There was so much sadness in his elder cousin's eyes, all Teddy could do was throw his arms around him. Draco stilled in his arms, and uncertainly brought his round and held on tightly. 

“You don’t have to prove yourself to me, I already think of you as family. Do you think I would have pushed you at Harry if I didn’t?” Teddy said as they held each other, hair turning to match that of his cousins brilliant white.

“I’ve always looked forward to your gifts, Grandma always had such a strange look when I opened them. She seemed to distrust them, but they also made her...I don’t know...wistful? Melancholy? Something like that anyway, like they meant more than she was willing to tell me. But they were all so beautiful.” Teddy pulled back, beaming at Draco. “I kept everything, hoping I could thank you properly one day, I was never certain that my thank you notes got to you.” 

“I did, I kept each one,” Draco replied, willing the tears to stop from falling. 

“I think at first she thought you were making fun of my Dad or something, but when she realised that this one was white gold rather than silver she changed her mind. Never really knew why though.” He said hoping for answers he’d long been waiting for.

Draco sighed but couldn’t think of a reason not to explain, even his Aunt couldn’t begrudge him that, surely. So he took the spare seat next to Teddy and began to explain. “Black family tradition, it should have been silver jewellery for that year, but I wasn’t sure if you had..taken after your father and I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting you If you had.” 

The young boy let out a low sad laugh, “Taken after my father, that is possibly the most Pureblood way I’ve ever heard of saying it,” he was still smiling but Draco looked taken aback, so he began spluttering an apology. 

“Sorry…I…”

“Oh don’t be, I kinda like it, It’s also one of the politer ways I’ve been asked, might start using it myself!” The huge grin on his face made Draco relax significantly.

Teddy's hair started turning back to its usual colour, and Draco found that he missed the blond slightly, “I do hope that I can be more present in your life now, even if it is only during term time,” he paused slightly before he finished “I wouldn’t want to upset my Aunt, of course, you are her charge and if she wishes me to stick to just being your teacher, I will abide by that decision.” He was solemn and serious, but also desperately hopeful. 

Teddy however merely chuckled. “Oh, I don’t think there’s much chance of that! She’s had to listen to a certain ‘someone’ singing your praises for most of the summer.” His smiles must be contagious Draco thought as he felt one spread across his own features. “I think Harry has been hoping she’d let you visit for some time now,” Draco preened at the idea of Harry wanting him there, at the heart of his little family. Teddy saw the look in his cousin’s eye and went on. “And I’m sure if you two do manage to sort yourselves out and get together, Grandma will have little choice but to accept you!” He chuckled. 

“Hey!” Draco said mock offended at the idea, “We’re not that bad, are we?”

“Well, would you have done anything about it if you hadn’t heard him say how he felt?” Teddy asked, knowing the answer already. “No, I suppose not.” The younger boy sighed, “And neither would he, so clearly you needed a bit of meddling!” 

“Of course Edward, thank you for that by the way.” Draco said, resigned.

After a good laugh at Draco’s expense, Teddy began to ask for more details about the gift’s he’d received over the years. Andromeda, so rarely spoke about her family and even Harry was sparse on details despite still living in Grimmauld Place. “Well I had to improvise of course, normally Blacks are named after stars or constellations, and the gift’s traditionally bare those symbols on them, but for you that wasn’t the case, so I figured the moon was a celestial body and that would be close enough,” He was rambling he knew but he had so much to say over the years and felt the need to try and fit in as much as he could just in case he didn’t get another chance. “And then I figured being able to track moon phases would be useful whether you..took after your father or not, and thus a theme was found.”

They spoke for some time, still sat in Harry’s office, Draco explaining how he’d missed the first few years, due to not knowing that Nymphadora had even married let alone had a child until his mother mentioned it on her death bed. He told how he’d decided then to send all the missed years at once to make up for the lost time. “Oh yeah I was, five I think, maybe six. Grandma insisted on getting the whole lot checked for hexes before she let me open anything!” Teddy interrupted before he went on about his favourite present that year. “I brought the star projection thing with me, it's great for Astrology homework!” They both laughed and Draco went on to explain that it should have been a mobile, but Teddy was too old for one by then. The ageing book he had received a couple of years later was revealed to be the same one Draco had been given when he was 8. 

“It was from my Grandfather Cygnus, it’s been in the family for centuries, but it does need taking care of.” He said, a sudden burst of seriousness in his tone. 

“Yeah, Yeah, I know, that’s one of the few things Grandma did explain,” Teddy said quickly hoping to stave off yet another lecture on the proper care of ancient magical books. 

“Very well,” Draco smirked before he continued his explanations.

The solar model Orrery had been of particular interest and was something Draco had spent a great deal on getting custom made, though he had finished off the charm work himself, partly for the tradition but mainly for the challenge. Potions may have been his best subject, but he always had a fondness for charms as well. As they started to talk of the present sent for Teddy's 11th birthday, the younger boy pulled out the book from his bag. It was a smallish diary planner, covered in a silvery grey leather, with moon phases embossed down the spine. The delicate pewter corners showed a variety of constellations and the clasp itself was a howling wolf. Draco was shocked to see it again, and judging by the coloured tabs and bits of loose parchment trying to escape, it seemed to be well used. “Grandma thought I’d never keep track of all my deadlines, I’ve never been overly organised,” Teddy spoke softly, hands almost caressing the cover before opening it. “I’ve used this every day since then, and I’ve never missed any. So thank you for that, Draco.” 

The young professor’s voice cracked as he said, “Well I’m glad you found it useful Edward.”

The ‘silver’ signet ring was another favourite and led to the most discussion. The band was covered in small stars, the crest itself showed a howling wolf against a round shield, beneath were two cross plumes of flowers. I had looked brand new when it was gifted, and clearly was still well looked after, “I see my Aunt explained where it should be worn, but I assume she didn’t explain the significance?” 

Teddy thumbed the ring nervously, “No, Harry didn’t seem to know either. It did get some odd looks from some of the students though. Mainly the ones from older families.” he tried, angling for the answer to another mystery. 

“Well, they most likely understood, but it wasn’t their place to say, nor would it have been Andromeda’s, though I wouldn’t have objected if she had,” Draco said with a smile, he was coming to the important part, difficult, but important. “Normally a firstborn son would receive a silver ring like that from their father upon their 10th birthday.” He took a deep breath and then said. “I knew that I would never have a son, and I already explained why it wasn’t silver, but I knew that I wanted to give it to you. Even if we never met.” Teddy felt like he was still missing something, but didn’t interrupt and merely cocked his head encouragingly. “It marks you as my heir.” He said at last.

Teddy’s jaw dropped unable to process this development. Silence reigned for a few minutes before his brain kicked in and he was able to form words. “But I’m not…But you…But…really? Me?” Sentences would take a while longer. 

“Yes Edward, you. You are my family, and the Malfoy line will end with me, so it only makes sense to pass it on to you. Also, I’m sure my dear Father would hate it so there’s that too.” He said with a wink. “There will be an outcry as well lose yet another 'sacred twenty-eight' family, but at this point, it’s probably better if we do, and I’m not letting public outcry force me into a loveless marriage.”

“So what does that mean? That I have to…” Draco interrupted before that thought could fester, “You don’t have to do anything, there are no conditions to this Edward, no expectations, nothing like that.”

He waved his hands frantically, most undignified but he needed to reassure his cousin of his intentions. “Oh, okay, sorry, I guess I shouldn’t jump to conclusions.” The younger boy said, running a hand through his hair. 

“That’s fine Edward, I think most of us would be fairly suspicious in similar situations.” Draco had a slight smile on his lips, but his eyes showed a deeper hint of regret, but taking another calming breath he carried on. “It won’t make a difference to you until after I die, and I’d like to think that’s a long way off yet.” Both of them found the ability to laugh again at that, and true smiles spread across both faces. “Though, of course, if you ever found yourself in need, I would be there to help.” Draco doubted this would ever be necessary, Harry was equally well off now and even better connected, and seemed to treat him as a son. There was also a whole clan of Weasleys, for when he needed to escape from either Andromeda or Harry. However, he felt better, having pointed out his support, just in case.

Clocks began to chime the hour, startling the pair. Neither had realised how long they had been talking, it must have been well over an hour since Harry had fled.

“I guess I should go and find him, he should have calmed down by now.” Draco murmured, as his cousin started to rummage through his pockets. He pulled out some folded parchment and muttered something Draco couldn’t hear.

“He’s out by the pitch.” He declared after a moment.

Draco looked at the parchment then back at his young cousin, “How?” He made a move to grab the parchment but stopped his hand. “How could you possibly know that? And what does a scrap of parchment have to do with it?” His tone was stern, attempting to cover up his confusion and curiosity.

Teddy merely smirked. “I’ll tell you all about it next time! But for now, go get ’im!” Draco liked the sound of a 'next time', his cousin grabbed him and started to drag him out of the chair, then out of the room.

“Alright, alright I’m going!” He smiled and then blushed thinking about the upcoming conversation. “Thank you, Edw…Teddy, for everything.”

Teddy locked the door behind them looked up at Draco, his hair blue, his eyes there usually amber a hopeful expression on his face. “No problem Draco, see you soon?”

“Anytime.” He said with an equally hopeful grin. Then they parted and Draco tried desperately not to just break into a run and merely beamed as he stalked down the hallways. He didn’t know what was coming, but for the first time in a very long time, he felt hopeful that thing would finally go his way.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is not part of my other Professor's AU series as in this neither of them have kids, but still a similar setting.
> 
> I am slowly working on the next part of that series though. Sorry for slow up dates.


End file.
